1. Field of the Invention
The field of the present invention relates to gaming devices and systems and, more particularly, to methods and systems for utilizing a combination smartcard and magnetic-stripe card and reader in a gaming system.
2. Background
Casinos and gaming establishments have traditionally relied upon coin-operated gaming devices. Such coin-operated gaming devices have a number of drawbacks or limitations. For example, they generally require customers to carry around large numbers of coins, which can be inconvenient or burdensome to customers.
To increase the convenience to customers, casinos and gaming establishments have for a number of years sought to provide a cashless gaming system. Some proposed systems, for example, allow customers to use gaming establishment credit cards to transfer playing credits to, and retrieve credits from, a particular gaming machine. An example of a such a system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,019,283. Many places in the United States and the rest of the world presently do not allow gambling on credit, however, making credit card systems of limited use. A similar proposed system allows use of a player-carried device such as a magnetic-stripe card to allow customers to use coin-operated game devices by paying a lump sum in lieu of using individual coins. Such a system is described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,575,622.
Yet another proposed approach is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,179,517, which discloses a system in which a credit account for a particular customer is maintained on a portable data carrier commonly known as a xe2x80x9csmart card.xe2x80x9d A smart card is a device generally in the size and shape of a standard credit card, encapsulating solid-state memory, circuitry for allowing the memory to be read from or written to, and, in certain cards, microprocessor circuitry for performing various programmable functions. Smart cards may be equipped with an interface having electrical contacts which make a physical connection with a smart card reader, or else may be equipped with a radio frequency (RF) interface to allow a smart card reader to interact with the smart card electronic circuitry over an RF communication link. A standard (ISO) protocol has been developed within the smart card industry for communicating between smart cards and smart card readers.
Other examples of data cards used for conducting cashless exchanges with a gaming machine or system are described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,089,982, which involves use of a player ID card for establishing gaming sessions at player terminals, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,371,345, which describes a change card having a memory storing a cash value which a change person can use to input a credit into a gaming machines in exchange for cash from a player.
Cashless gaming systems are most often utilized in an environment in which the various gaming devices are all connected to and controlled by a central computer, which serves as the host for a local area network, and such systems are referred to as xe2x80x9con-linexe2x80x9d systems. Such on-line gaming systems have certain advantages such as centralized control and player tracking capability. On the other hand, xe2x80x9coff-linexe2x80x9d gaming devices are generally stand-alone, and are not directly tied to a host computer or a network. However, they generally have the advantage of being deployable in any locale without requiring the expense and overhead of a central computer system.
The foregoing approaches to cashless or card-based gaming, while providing some measure of convenience, nevertheless have drawbacks or limitations which make them less than ideal. For example, many of the cashless or card-based systems are inconvenient when the player moves from gaming machine to gaming machine, particularly if the gaming machines are not tied to the same central computer system. Some of the cashless or card-based systems require the involvement of gaming establishment personnel to, e.g., add credit amounts to the playing card. This requirement limits the locations in which gaming machines can be utilized, and also can be inconvenient to players.
There is a need for a gaming system which provides increased convenience to players and gaming establishments, and which overcomes or mitigates various drawbacks and limitations in conventional cashless or card-based gaming systems.
The invention provides in one aspect systems, methods and techniques for secure cashless gaming which can be used with off-line or on-line gaming devices. In one or more embodiments, a single device in the form of a multi-functional portable data device (preferably a combined smart card and magnetic-stripe card) can be used to exchange money with a financial institution in a cashless (i.e., credit or debit) transaction, and to credit or debit an electronic purse (xe2x80x9ce-pursexe2x80x9d) resident on the portable data device. An integrated data reading device can be used to conduct the various monetary transactions electronically so as to transfer money between the financial institutions and the e-purse on the portable data device. The portable data device preferably can be presented to gaming devices in a cashless gaming environment to allow the customers to use the gaming devices.
Further embodiments, variations and enhancements of the invention are also described herein.